Over the winter, Carter Forney of Talkeetna rode his bike cross-country, raising money to purchase bikes for children as he went. He’s made a documentary about the journey that is screening in Talkeetna this Friday night. KTNA’s Phillip Manning has more.
Last fall, Carter Forney’s cross-country bike ride began in the San Diego International Airport, some assembly required. After his flight from Anchorage landed, Carter took his packaged bicycle off the luggage carousel and got to work.
“[I] just started unboxing my bike in the airport, and got some funny looks from people…I built
the bike and actually pedaled out the doors at the San Diego International Airport.”
From there, Carter Forney would pedal more than 3,000 miles across the American South to his final destination. He believes that cycling is one of the best ways to travel, and that the experience is often richer than riding in a car.
“You don’t get the smells, or the sounds of the birds, and you’re really going by so fast that you don’t notice the little, subtle differences. When you’re on a bike, you feel it all.”
The ride wasn’t just for the fun or the challenge, though. Carter wanted to spread the joy of cycling by raising money to buy bikes for children as he went.
“I thought, ‘Hey, if I raise twenty bucks, that would be cool. I set a pretty high goal for myself, but I ended up meeting the goal. It’s been an awesome adventure.”
At first, donations to Carter’s cause mostly came from friends and family, but he says momentum picked up as he made his way across the country.
“It was slow going at first, but as I started to post things and raise awareness about what I was doing, support just started pouring in.”
Carter has bought and assembled eight bikes with the funds he raised, over $2,500. He purchased many of the bikes through the Austin-based charity Bikes for Goodness Sake. They were delivered to him on the road, and Carter would enlist bike clubs, friends, or other volunteers to build and distribute them.
Government agencies, foster care groups, and simple word of mouth meant there were a lot more requests than bikes available, and Carter Forney says making those decisions was comparably difficult to traveling across the United States by pedal power.
“When people figured out what I was doing, I had so many options. That’s pretty much been the hardest part in the charity aspect, picking the kid that is perfect for the bike. Because you can only give away so many, you know? And you don’t want to leave anyone out.”
Ultimately, Carter says the children who received bikes were very happy, and he feels like he and his donors have made a positive impact on their lives.
After thousands of miles, Carter reached the end of his trip in December in St. Augustine, Florida.
“It couldn’t have been a more beautiful place to end the ride. St. Augustine has a lot of really interesting history—some cool forts and other things like that to check out.”
Throughout the long ride, Carter posted video updates to the internet. He says those videos were well received, and that got him thinking.
“I got a lot of really great feedback, and it seemed like people were really liking it. So then, along the ride, I just decided, ‘Hey, I’ll just take this film and make a documentary.’”
The end result is Via Bike, a film that runs about one hour. Carter Forney premiered the film earlier this year, and it will show in Talkeetna on Friday. Carter is also planning a community bike ride earlier on Friday before the screening.
With this journey complete, Carter Forney says he’s not sure what region or country he wants to explore next, but he is sure that he wants to do it via bike.
